Although oropharyngeal dysphagia (OD) may cause very severe complications, it is often not detected, explored, and treated. Older patients are frequently unaware of their swallowing dysfunction, which is one of the reasons why the consequences of OD, i.e. aspiration, dehydration, and malnutrition, are regularly not attributed to dysphagia. It is obvious that dysphagia directly impairs the ability to eat and drink, reduces dietary intake of energy, water, and other nutrients, and sooner or later will result in malnutrition and dehydration, if not correctly cured.
Dehydration is one of the main complications of OD, but its prevalence is not well described. Some studies have shown that patients with OD have hydropenia, and reduced intracellular water and saliva volume and the evidence suggests that it is mainly due to insufficient fluid intake. In order to increase compliance and ensure patient preferences, it is suggested to have a range of thickeners that are easy (convenient preparation, simple to use, and consistent dosing), fast (accurate dosing and faster to achieve the target viscosity) and safe (improves swallowing safety, lump-free, amylase resistant and stable over time) to use. For this reason, a liquid thickener has been developed that meets these requirements: ThickenUp® GelExpress (TUGE).
Our group designed a prospective pilot study that aimed to study the acceptability, gastrointestinal (GI) tolerance, compliance and palatability, and the therapeutic effect of the 14-day intervention with thickened fluids (TF) by TUGE on hydration status in patients with OD. We can conclude that this pilot study shows TUGE was well-accepted, well-tolerated and significantly improved the hydration status in patients with OD after a 14-day intervention.
Watch the 9 minute conference talk with Dr. Noemí Tomsen and hear about EFFECT OF A NOVEL LIQUID THICKENER ON HYDRATION STATUS IN PATIENTS WITH OROPHARYNGEAL DYSPHAGIA
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